civilized ku # 13 - the morning-after hangover

A Space in NYC • click on photo to embiggen it One of the most profound impressions that I took away from the Wall exhibition was a haunting comment uttered by my good friend Robert (I don't think he owns a camera). Interestingly, the comment was not about the Wall exhibition.

He, Aaron and I spent over 3 hours perusing the 41 Wall photographs. The photographs were very engaging and engrossing. They engendered much discussion, rumination and postulation - my apologies to Robert and Aaron for discussing, ruminating and postulating my way through the last quarter of the exhibition with a lovely and engaging lady from Dublin, Ireland (the wife isn't reading this, is she?).

After the Wall thing, we drifted down to the permanent photography exhibition space where there was an extensive exhibition of photography from masters past and present. Assuming one has paid attention to the history of the medium and its movements and periods, it was more of a nostalgic trip down memory lane, with a few surprises thrown in, than anything else.

It was the end of this exhbit, which we breezed through in relatively short order, that Robert stated simply that "sometimes there's just too much." Now, there certainly was an element of how-much-fried-chicken-can-you-eat? to his utterance, but his point was that a certain numbness can set in in the face of so much'good' photography. This from a guy who does own a computer but, other than an ocassional visit to this blog and few photo exhibits now and again, he spends about as much time on the web looking for photography blogs/websites as I do skinning ardvarks.

His point was well taken and has stayed with me like an irritating bee in my bonnet. Upon some reflection I know why. The few surprises which I encountered on my photo trip down memory lane came from the work of a few modern 'masters' and virtually every one of those 'masters' was making not taking photographs. I was definitely captivated by much of the 'fictive' reality effect that the photographers were creating and presenting, much in the vein, albeit a minor one, being mined by Wall.

This has left me a bit shaken, photography-wise - Is it enough to 'just' be taking pictures rather than making pictures? I now have a firmer grip on the difference between an 'artist-who-uses-photography' and a 'photographer-who-is-an-artist'. I am beginning to feel that there are very few of one and too many of the other.

I am also beginning to understand the Art-Worldist notion that there actually is a modern-day 'photo ghetto' out there. One which consists primarily of the work of those who take rather than make pictures - and have no doubt about it, the 'ghetto' includes, in the opinion of the the Art-Worldists, some of the most recent Szarkowski-era'heavyweight' picture takers in the medium.

Perhaps this is the true import of Wall's methodology and his photography (which is almost an aside). Now that the world is awash with excellent picture takers, the time has come for picture makers to move to the fore.

Update on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 at 05:15PM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: Ana wrote: "...One of the things that I've realized has been cooking in the back of my head this past semester has been developing a sense of my own agency as a photographer. This is very much a revelation for me, coming as I did from the nature photography genre, which generally speaking doesn't tend to have that sense of agency."

Update on Monday, March 26, 2007 at 02:52PM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: Tom Connor wrote: "This distinction between "making" & "taking" is useful to think about, but it can become confusing. Do you mean the photograph must be created from scratch, as a painter creates a painting from a bare canvas? Or that it must be generated from the needs/visions/obsessions of the photographer -- perhaps as they can be found in the world? Because, while the 1st is very much in favor with curators & art buyers right now (Crewsden, Wall et al) it can often, be empty & pedantic in my opinion(see my review of Wall's MOMA show here. Whereas work drawn from the rich serendipity of real life can often be deeply personal. I would hate to think that in order to "make", as opposed to "take" images, artists need to absent themselves from the endlesss, wondrous flow of life."

FYI - NYC, there and back again

NYC goings on • click on photo to embiggen it>Dateline 8:10 PM Au Sable Forks time: Back home after an invigorating trip to NYC. We went to MOMA for some inspiration, then walked about Manhattan to Grand Central Station where we had a fantastic meal at the restaurant of a friend, and then onto Madison Square Garden to see a fight but a hockey game broke out instead.

Much thanks to Robert and Stephan - Robert, I caught a scarfy for you.

FYI ~ An Octopus and Some Beans

An Octopus and Some Beans. Jeff Wall, 1990 approx. 6×8' each

>Dateline 12:12 AM, NYC time: Right off the top, I have to state that the Jeff Wall exhibition at MOMA must be seen if you wish to have even the slightest understanding and appreciation of Jeff Wall's photography.

The large scale of the backlit photographs and their detail-laddened 'reality effect' are nearly overwhelming. To attempt to grasp the full import of these photographs from the viewing of small-scale printed reproductions is, well...like viewing a cinema epic such as Lawrence of Arabia on a small-screen bw television with crappy speakers. Sure, you'd certainly get the idea, but in a very 'small' way - a very pale imitation of the 'real' thing.

If you live on or are traveling to the East Coast, drive, walk, run, crawl if you must, to NYC and MOMA to see this exhibition. It is monumental and important. Much of what the Art Worldists say about it is true - "“Jeff Wall's vivid, lambent photographs hover between the observed and the imagined, between the commonplace and the surreal.-Newsday, or, "...Like a commercial light box, a Wall photograph grabs you with its glowing presence, but then, unlike an advertisement, it holds your gaze with the richness of its detail and the harmony of its arrangement. You could study it with the attention you devoted to a Flemish altarpiece in a church, and you could surrender yourself to its spell as if you were in a movie theater.”—The New York Times Magazine

It should also be noted that much of what the Art Worldists (and Wall, himself) have to say about it is arcane, obtuse, convolted self-referential crap. That's ok. Ignore it and go about the business of getting lost "in fully equipped all-terrain visual vehicles, intent on being intensely pleasurable while making a point or two about society, art, history, visual perception, the human animal or all of the above.”—The New York Times

See the MOMA online exhibition excerpt HERE.

PS; The exhibition will also be appearing at the Art Insitute of Chicago and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art later in the year.

Update on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 at 05:39PM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: Kent Wiley wrote: "...It's about time someone, in all this brou ha ha about Wall, said the obvious: ignore the words and look at the pictures. How many phenomenal artists are there through the ages who were absolute p--cks, but we venerate the art they made nonetheless? J.W. may be another one."

urban ku # 46

Late evening snow • click on photo to embiggen itA view from the clubhouse at the Lake Placid Resort created last evening while I was killing time waiting to photograph U.S. 1980 Olympic Hockey Team captain Mike Eruzione (scored the game-winner against the Soviets in the 'Miracle on Ice') pressing-the-flesh with Verizon's top 25 salespersons.

UPDATE for ku, the book - I have put an online PDF for viewing HERE.

Caveat: If you should download the PDF for printing, be advised that the embedded images are lores CMYK, not RGB, which means that, unless you have a CMYK RIP for your printer, the color and tonal balance will print very differently than the correct color and tonal balance.

I'm off to NYC, back again soon. Stay tuned.

ku ~ the book

Cover and a few sample spreads • click on image to embiggen itYou asked for, you've got it. Well, to be more accurate, some of you asked for it and you can get it. And to be even more accurate, what some of you asked for was a published book - this ain't it.

What it is, is a print-on-demand book which contains many of the photographs which will be in a published book that will be coming in about a year or so. The format is 8×8 inches, 60 photographs, 40 pages, with hard-bound cover.

The book is organized by season with an additional section of urban ku photographs.

So, here's the deal. There will be 25 of these books - The New Adirondack Eden: an ethereal concept/temporal reality in the balance - available. They will be signed and numbered. The price is $100.00. Each book will come with 1 signed, open edition print (10×10 image on 11.7×11.7 Enhanced Matte paper) of your choice from my entire ku series.

It is well worth noting that the color and tonal fidelity of the printed book is remarkably accurate to the original prints.

The entire book can be previewed online HERE.

Secure Credit/Debit Card and Echeck purchase with PayPal - no account required

ku # 465

Yesterday's ice jam in the Forks is gone, so here's yesterday's intended topic - emerging.

It's the time of year when things start to emerge from under their wintery blanket and how refreshing it is, after being layered up for winter cold, to be in the woods, lightly dressed and smelling the earth again. Melt-out is a very short 'mini-season' with its own special delights, especilly considering that mud-season comes fast on its heels.

That said, it appears that we will have 2 melt-outs this year. Tonight's forecast is for a significant winter storm - up to 18 inches in some areas.
Emerging Erratic • click on photo to embiggen itI love snow, but I'm ready for Spring. And you know Spring is in the air when you step outside with 30-month-old Hugo (in his pjs), remark how warm it is and, without missing a beat, he responds with, "Can we play golf now?"

But, thankfully, the storm will be over sometime on Saturday. On Sunday Aaron and I drive to NYC to; 1) see the Jeff Wall exhibit at MOMA, and, 2) see the Rangers play the Pittsburgh (thankfully that's finally settled) Pens at MSG, where we will be hosted by ESPN in their 'corporate box' (complete with all the catered goodies).

Quotes

Found this little ditty over on photo-muse.blogspot.com.

"...everything around us, dead or alive, in the eyes of a crazy photographer mysteriously takes on many variations, so that a seemingly dead object comes to life through light or by its surroundings.... To capture some of this - I suppose that's lyricism...

I believe that photography loves banal objects, and I love the life of objects." - Josef Sudek

urban ku # 43/44/45

Ice jam at Main St. bridge • click on photo to embiggen itI was typing away on today's entry when I got a phone call from Aaron. He told me to get my a-- out the door and check out the ice jam on Main Street. His assistant, who goes through the Forks on his way to work, told him about it.

Ice jams at bridges is a common spring-thaw thing 'round these parts. The odd thing about this one is that it rarely happens at this bridge (on the West Branch of the Au Sable)- it alwayshappens at the bridge on the other end of Main Street (on the East Branch of the Au Sable).

The other odd thing is that the ice jam is on both sides of the bridge. Should get interesting - it's going to rain all day and it's warm so melting snow is going to add to the mix.

The funny thing is that I was going to write about things emerging from under their wintery blanket (with photo to match). I'll do that tomorrow. Today, it's all about submerging.